The recent death of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia results in an even more polarized atmosphere on Capitol Hill, which could, in turn, impact passage of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and other agriculture and food policy issues.
President Obama has stated that he will nominate a replacement for Scalia and that he expects the U.S. Senate to consider the nominee. However, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell stated soon after Scalia’s death that the Supreme Court vacancy “should not be filled until we have a new president.” But on Tuesday, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-IA) declined to rule out hearings on Supreme Court nominee.
Grassley said he would “take it a step at a time” and “wait until the nominee is made before I would make any decision” on hearings. Senate Orin Hatch (R-UT), a former chairman of the Judiciary Committee, who continues to serve on the committee, said in an interview that he worries that a political spectacle amid a presidential race could be “demeaning” to the nominee, the Senate, and the panel’s reputation for conducting fair and serious work.
The president has the option, while the Senate is in recess, of naming a replacement for Justice Scalia. A recess appointee would serve until the end of the current Congress in January 2017. White House officials have not dismissed the idea that the president could use the recess maneuver if the Senate were to fail to hold hearings or vote on the nomination the president says he will send to the Senate.
However, that opportunity to make a recess appointment is short lived, probably disappearing on Monday when the Senate returns from this week’s recess. And, Senate Republicans are likely to keep the Senate officially in session continuously for the rest of President Obama’s term.
The sudden Supreme Court vacancy is likely to impact agriculture and food policy, such as approval of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Scalia’s death, and his eventual replacement, could also impact several major court cases affecting agriculture, including litigation concerning the regulatory reach of the Clean Water Act challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s Waters of the U.S. Rule.
Today, the eight remaining U.S. Supreme Court justices are considering whether to hear the American Farm Bureau Federation challenge to the EPA cleanup plan for the Chesapeake Bay. It was thought that Justice Scalia would have supported the argument that EPA’s plan infringed on states’ rights to determine land use.
If TPP were to be addressed in 2016, it would probably have to be during the end-of-year lame duck session. Chances of TPP passing this year were already slim before Scalia’s death, but the nomination controversy could make an already testy environment in the Senate even more cantankerous. With a limited schedule of legislative days in 2016, Senate infighting over the nomination could make it even more difficult to get TPP to the Senate floor, according to report from Agri-Pulse.
Agri-Pulse also reported on remarks made by Chief Agricultural Negotiator for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative Darci Vetter to the U.S. Grains Council Annual Meeting. Vetter also indicated that approval might have to wait until the lame duck session. “This is an election year, there is obviously a lot of political wrangling going on,” Vetter said. “Trade is a sensitive issue, so clearly this plays into those politics. But, if you just think about the calendar, in order to consider this bill, even in a lame duck period, we need to start changing hears and minds now,” Vetter said. She also pointed out that once the administration submits a bill to Congress, it starts a 90-day legislative clock for the agreement to work its way through the House and Senate.
